It All Got A Bit Grassy Knoll
by Hecate28
Summary: Multi-chapter story set Pre-Series 16. Based on the information in 'Trust'. What exactly happened between Jack and Chrissie?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The Irishman sauntered up to the police tape in his blue forensic suit, kit in one hand and ID badge in the other. Despite only being qualified for a few months, he certainly wasn't lacking in the confidence department. This was only his fifth case, flying solo. So far the cases had been relatively simple: a couple of RTAs, one robbery and open and shut murder case.

Whilst he enjoyed his job, he had been hoping for something a little more exciting. West-Yorkshire had so far seemed pretty dull on the crime front and he when found himself drowning under mountains of paperwork, he found himself wishing for the occasional serial killer to liven things up a little. Still the MMA club he had signed up for looked pretty promising. He'd soon show these northerners a thing or two.

He stopped at the tape, looking the officer confidently in the eye "Jack Hodgson. Forensics," he said flashing his badge at the officer and giving the standard introduction. The officer grunted and nodded in response, holding up the tape up so Jack could duck underneath it.

"Body's up there," the officer said nodding towards a dilapidated farm building "DC Reed is the SIO,"

"Thanks," Jack said heading off in the aforementioned direction. As he walked up the dirt track, his forensic skills were keenly switched on taking in anything that could be of use to him in his investigation.

It was still early in the morning and the weak sun was only just beginning to break through the grey sky which seemed to characterise the whole of Yorkshire. The scene was on farmland, pretty isolated with only one main road leading to the scene of the crime. He grimaced as he noted the lack of CCTV or speed cameras around.

He approached the farm building to see an array of police officers and forensic experts milling around in the entrance.

"Forensics," he said greeting another man in a white suit

"Doctor Hart," the man said "I'm the pathologist on this case. Nice of you to finally turn up,"

"I got held up in traffic," Jack shrugged

"Yeah well tell that to the SIO," Doctor Hart told him "She's a real ball breaker this one," he said glancing around until his eyes fell on the brunette striding towards him "Forensics, Ma'am," he said introducing Jack

"You took your sweet time," the (not-unattractive Jack noted) woman said "DC Reed," she informed him "I'm the investigating officer on this case. Everything you do, you run by me first,"

"Yes boss," he said sarcastically giving her a mock salute accompanied by his trademark grin.

She sighed loudly "I can tell this is going to be so much fun," she said mirroring his sarcasm "Aren't you a bit young to be a forensic scientists?" she asked as they walked into the farmhouse

"Maybe," Jack shrugged "What can I say? I worked hard and I'm good at what I do,"

"I think I'll be the judge of that," she scowled at him clearly frustrated with his confidence

"100% success rate so far," he told her "I'm especially good at liaising with the police," Jack grinned

"Is that right?" she said raising her eyebrows

"I'm willing to share a few tips with you later over a drink," he tried

"Get on with your work" she said seemingly affronted by his come-ons, but Jack was sure he saw the briefest of smiles cross her lips.

"No chance of a de-brief later then?" he asked cheekily and she shook her head at him "Your loss,"

"I highly doubt it," she said "Get on with your work," she repeated "The sooner we're done here the sooner we can get back to bed and no that wasn't an invitation," Chrissie said before Jack could retort

"Shame," he muttered under his breath as she left him too it.

It looked like things were starting to liven up after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The farm case had been relatively simple. An argument between two landowners had gotten out of hand, resulting in the shooting of one by the other. Jack had managed to retrieve a bullet from the scene that had been lodged in one of the rafters. From that he had been able to deduce the make of the gun and even trace it back to the dead man's neighbour who turned out to be perpetrator.

He had been unwilling to confess at first but Jack's forensic evidence had been too compelling and he had eventually blurted out every detail that they needed to secure a conviction for the murder. It had been another victory for the criminal justice system and for Jack's unblemished track record.

He was currently in the lab processing some samples from a new case that had come in that afternoon. Hi colleagues had departed for the evening, leaving Jack alone with his samples. Peering down the eyepiece of the microscope he was attempting to extract any information he could from the sample of hair he was looking at.

"I assume you're attempting to locate your missing Y chromosome," a droll voice said and Jack looked up from the microscope to see DC Reed standing in the doorway

"I'm looking for your personality actually," he quipped

"Ouch," she said sarcastically

"Is there anything I can do for you DC Reed,"

"DS actually," she corrected "I got confirmation of my promotion this afternoon. This latest conviction secured it, although it clearly should have happened years earlier. Still that's misogyny for you,"

"So you've come here to gloat or complain about the patriarchal structure of West Yorkshire police service" Jack frowned "Well as much as I'd love to have a woman to woman chat with you DS Reed, I'm kind of busy,"

"I wanted you to know that it was thanks to your efforts on the forensic side of things that we secured the conviction," she said stepping closer to him "I want you to know that I really appreciate your forensic skills,"

"Oh really?" he said smirking "Because I thought you didn't trust in my abilities,"

"I said I'd be the judge of whether you were a decent scientist or not," she said

"And your verdict?" Jack asked leaning in towards her

"Well let's just say I need to do some further investigations before I come to any conclusions," she smirked

…

Jack let out a satisfied sigh as he leaned back in his bed, shuffling slightly to make himself more comfortable.

"I don't know what you're smirking at." A voice came and he turned to see Chrissie frowning at him from the other side of the bed

"I'm guessing I passed with flying colours," Jack smirked

"Don't flatter yourself,"

"Well if you're unsure I can propose a rematch. After all every good scientist knows that to increase the validity of results, repeating the experiments is necessary," he said shuffling closer towards her

"You're so full of yourself," she sighed but leaned into Jack's muscular body all the same "Just remember this is no-string attached sex," she said

"Of course," he said "Just friends with benefits,"

"Colleagues, not friends," she corrected him sharply

"I just love the blunt Northern charm. It's really winning me over," he said sarcastically

"That was the plan," Chrissie said "Anyway, you can talk with your Irish charm. I see those women simpering over you,"

"You're not one of my adoring fans then?" Jack grinned lazily

"Oh please," she scoffed "I have more self-respect than that,"

"I've seen plenty of your self-respect this evening Detective Sergeant," Jack said as her phone rang

"DS Reed," she barked into the phone "Right, I'll be straight there," she said hanging up "I've got to go," she said climbing out of bed "I've got duties to do,"

"Is that what you're calling me now?" he asked with a grin and she shot him a look as she hastily pulled on her clothes

"Goodbye Mr Hodgson," she said exiting through the door

"Until next time DS Reed,"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Jack slumped down against the lockers with a deep groan, relishing the feeling of the cool metal against his back. It provided a make-shift icepack for his rapidly accumulating bruises. He wiped at his nose and was met with the sight of a streak of blood on his bruised hand. His head was bounding and his body ached despite the effects of the adrenalin that was coursing through his veins.

In short, Jack had just won his first MMA fight.

"You look a sight," he heard someone say and looked up, though a rapidly bruising pair of eyes, to see his trainer grinning down at him

Jack shrugged "I aim please,"

"And please you did tonight," his trainer said "That was impressive. A bit rough around the edges and you could work on your defence a bit more. But I think we could make this work. You've got one heck of a fight in you,"

"Thanks," Jack said wearily as his trainer tossed him a towel

"Same time, same place next week Jack," his trainer called as he left the locker room

Jack got to his feet unsteadily and pulled himself into one of the showers. The hot water helped unknot his tense muscles although the pressure of the water seemed to pound his already aching body. Stumbling out of the shower, he pulled on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt, wincing in pain as he wriggled and struggled into the clothing.

He knew that MMA was tough but this had been beyond his expectations. He'd spent the last hour being kicked and punched around the cage, grabbling and struggling to achieve his narrowly won victory. He glanced in the mirror to check on his bruised face.

His trainer was right; he really did need to work on his defence.

He was just pulling his trainers on when he phone rang out, echoing slightly in the cavern like quality of the locker room.

"Jack Hodgson,"

"Jack, it's Chrissie," the familiar sharp tones rang out

"Couldn't keep away?," he grinned smugly and he heard her tut disapprovingly

"I need you at a crime scene pronto,"

"I hate to break it to you but I'm not on call tonight. So you won't have the pleasure of seeing my handsome face tonight. Sorry,"

"I don't care if you're not on call tonight. I need you here right away Jack," she said sharply

"Andrew Barnes is on call tonight if I remember correctly," he said trying to mentally visualise the work rota "He's not as dashing and witty as I am but I'm sure you two will get along fine,"

"I don't trust anyone else Jack," she said "And I don't want some half-wit trampling all over my crime scene,"

"But-" he began but was cut of mid-sentence by Chrissie

"-You're the only person I trust Jack," Chrissie said, this time her tone much softer and more vulnerable "I need you here Jack. I need _you_,"

He sighed softly, trying to massage the pain in his ribs with his free hand "Give me the details. I'll be right over,"

"Thanks Jack. I owe you," she said as she told him the details and location of the scene

"Chrissie, I-" he began but was cut of as she hung up the phone

He pulled the phone away from his ear and hastily shoved it back in his pocket. Jack wearily got to his feet, pulling on his coat as he made his way out of the MMA gym.

As he stepped out into the cool night air, he hoped there was a 24 hours pharmacy nearby.

He really needed some painkillers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"What the hell happened to you?" one of his colleagues asked as Jack stumbled into the lab the next morning, dozy from the lack of sleep and amount of painkillers running through his veins

"Nothing," he waved the concerns off, focusing all his efforts in sinking into his desk chair without unleashing a whole new wave of pain

"I thought it was your night off last night?" his colleague persisted

"It was," Jack protested "I like to fight on my nights off, that's all,"

"You're a glutton for punishment," his colleague sighed "What is it, boxing?"

"MMA actually," Jack corrected unpacking his bag and double checking his stock of painkillers for the day

"Bloody hell Jack,"

"It's not that bad," Jack said trying not to glance at his reflection in his computer screen

"Have you seen your face?" his colleague said looking concerned "Please tell me you've seen a doctor?"

"I didn't have time last night," Jack shook his head "I was called out to a crime scene,"

"But you weren't on call last night," his colleague frowned "Who was the SIO?"

"DS Reed," Jack said coyly

"Now there's a surprise," came the sarcastic response

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack said defensively

"Nothing," his colleague shrugged "Are you sweet on her?" he asked but Jack made no reply, choosing to focus instead on logging on to his computer "Oh god you are, aren't you?"

"Shut up," Jack retorted playfully

"You shagged her yet?"

"Maybe," Jack smirked

"Man, you are in way over your head with that one," his colleague let out a low whistle "She's a ball-breaker if I ever did meet one. Don't be fooled by those big eyes and dimples, she's not one to be messed with,"

"I can handle myself," Jack said firmly

"Sure you can," his colleague rolled his eyes and leant over to poke Jack in the ribs, who in turn let out a yelp of pain "Looks that way to me," he said sarcastically

"You're just jealous because the closest thing you've got to a sex life is processing semen samples," Jack quipped

"Whatever," his colleague shrugged and slouched off, clearly unable to think up a suitable retort

Jack swung his chair back around and leant into it, trying to ignore the pain in his ribs. He wanted to take some more painkillers but that would involve getting up to obtain a glass of water and moving involved pain. So instead Jack just gritted his teeth and got on with it, focusing on his work and letting out the occasional grunt of pain.

Eventually one of his female colleagues took pity on him and passed him a glass of water, with a sympathetic look on her face. Gratefully Jack accepted it and knocked back some more painkillers and waited for the pain to subside in his ribs.

He was halfway through writing up a report on his findings last night when his phone buzzed. Wanting to ignore it at first, in order to avoid having to move, his curiosity eventually got the better of him and he reluctantly reached over to pick up the device to read the text message he had received:

Really appreciate your help last night. Free later if you want to 'debrief' C

Jack smirked as he sent a suitably dirty message back in response, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by his colleagues

"You look happy," the female colleague who had taken pity on him said

"Well Rebecca, that's because everything is right with the world," he told her with a grin "The sun is almost shining, the birds are singing…"

"…Jack's getting laid later tonight," a voice cut in and they turned to see the male colleague whom Jack had been speaking to earlier standing there

"Andrew!" Rebecca chastised, seemingly offended by the crudity of his response

"It's true," Andrew shrugged "Jack's in love,"

"Aww," Rebecca cooed as Jack shot a 'shut-up-and-die' look at Andrew "Who is she?"

"No one," Jack said quickly. But Andrew, clearly enjoying his colleagues discomfort pressed the topic further

"None other than DS Chrissie Reed," Andrew grinned looking satisfied

"Oh!" Rebecca said looking startled "The one who works in CID?"

"The very same," Andrew nodded knowingly

"But, isn't she married?" Rebecca said looking confused

Jack said bolt upright at the revelation and swore as a bolt of pain flashed through his body

"Alright you three back to work," they turned to see the head of the lab standing there ready to admonish them "You're not paid to stand around and gossip,"

"Sorry," Rebecca squeaked and hurried back off to her desk

"Yeah fine," Andrew said moodily, annoyed that his fun had been cut short

"Are you alright Jack?" his boss asked, concerned at the Irishman's silence

"Fine," Jack said distantly

He zoned out and was hardly paying attention to what his boss way saying. He'd been in Yorkshire two months now and had known Chrissie for exactly one month. He'd flirted with her and slept with her. Seen her naked and watched her as she tossed and turned in slumber. He knew thought he had known he intimately, but Rebecca's revelation cast doubt on that.

Married?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

He walked down the corridor lost in his own thoughts. People greeted him but he didn't respond. Jack clutched at the stack of papers in his hand, it was the report Chrissie had asked him to write. He could have emailed it to her of course, but he needed to see her face to face. He needed to know if it was true that she was married.

Jack turned into the CID offices and was greeted warmly by a fellow detective.

"Is the Boss in?" Jack asked, trying to force his best smile and the Detective nodded. Jack waved his thanks and walked over to Chrissie' office, knocking loudly on the door.

"Come," a voice demanded and Jack entered.

She was sitting at her desk, furiously typing away at her computer. A glare that was present in her eyes, softened slightly when she saw Jack and was soon replaced by a seductive smile

"Jack," she said "I wasn't expecting you,"

"You're married," he cut her off bluntly

The shock on her face was evident "Nice to see you too Jack," she said sarcastically

He flung the paper down on her desk and breathed out heavily "Is it true?" he asked

"Does it matter?" she asked with a steely calm "I don't really see how it's any of your business,"

"I'm sleeping with you Chrissie!" he protested loudly and she hissed at him to keep his voice down

"Not here, not now," she said quietly "Let me come round to your later and-"

"No" Jack shook his head "You lied to me,"

"Technically a lie involves deliberately feeding false information. I never told you I was married because you never asked,"

"You're such a woman!" he snapped "Turning this all around and blaming it on me!"

"Jack!" she chastised

"How many others are you sleeping with? CID or are you stretching it out to uniform as well," he turned to leave "I should have believed what they said about you," Jack muttered as he grasped the handle

"Unhappily," came the quiet response

"What?" he turned around and looked at Chrissie

"I'm unhappily married," she said again and Jack noticed the tears beginning to well up in her eyes

He started to walk back into the room, listening intently as she spoke

"His name is Michael, he works in IT and we've been married two years. He works away from home a lot because his company is based down in London. It's put quite a strain on our relationship,"

"I thought distance was meant to make the heart grow fonder?" Jack asked

"Grow up Jack," she sighed shaking her head "This is the real world. I know full well that he's probably got some bimbo he's shagging down there anyway,"

"Oh, so you're doing this to get back at him?" Jack said angrily "So I'm your bimbo, is that it?"

"No Jack," she said "I'm doing this because my marriage was a mistake but with you things are right. You can feel it too when we're together can't you? It just feels so right," Chrissie walked over to him until their bodies were almost touching

"I thought you said not in public," he said glancing at the slatted blinds of her office as she pressed closer to him "I don't know Chrissie," he said pulling away slightly. Jack knew he was many things but he wasn't the type of man to go after someone else's wife.

"If it's your conscience you're worried about then it's clear," she said softly "My marriage is practically over. It's an empty shell that only exists in legal terms," Chrissie reached up and pressed her lips against Jack's mouth

He sighed softly and Chrissie knew that she'd won. She pulled back with a triumphant smirk on her face "So is that the report you've delivered to me?" she said glancing at that stack of papers that he'd strewn across her desk "Hmm, I think I should get you worked up more often. You get your work done so much quicker,"

"Is this the bit where we start having angry sex?" he asked

"Don't push your luck," she said shaking her head "But maybe I might repay your hard work later. I want to hear all about what others have been saying about me. Maybe we can test out their conclusions," Chrissie said as she walked back to her desk

Jack nodded with a satisfied smile and straightened out his shirt to remove any evidence or their altercation. "I'll see you later then DS Reed,"

She silently nodded, already back concentrating on her work. He left her office and walked back the way he had come.

"Is the Boss alright?" the detective who had greeted him earlier asked and Jack was puzzled by the grin on his face

"I suppose so;" he shrugged "I was just dropping of a report. We didn't really do small talk,"

"Fair enough," the Detective nodded "I'll see you around Jack,"

"See you," he said as he turned to leave the CID offices

"Oh Jack," the scientist looked over his shoulder at the Detective

"What?"

"You've got some lipstick on your lips,"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six **

Months passed and the affair continued much as it had done before the bombshell of Chrissie's marriage had become apparent to Jack. It had taken a few weeks (and a lot of flirting on Chrissie's part) before Jack had been suitably convinced she had meant it when she told him her marriage was nothing more than an empty shell.

Jack had tried to probe her for more information but every time he brought the subject up, she would just break down into tears. She would look so helpless that Jack felt obliged to drop the subject. Instead, he would hold her against his muscular frame, making gentle soothing noises and promising not to bring the subject up again. This always seemed to abruptly end her tears and they would then engage in sex, putting all thoughts of her marriage out of Jack's head.

They were still keeping their affair low key so not to draw attention to themselves. The often met in Jack's pokey flat, away from prying eyes. Occasionally they would have a quick 'encounter' in the locker room but on the whole Chrissie treated him with the same cold contempt she had always shown towards him. Jack, of course, was sure this was all an act to convince people that they weren't romantically involved.

She didn't mean it really. She told him that when they were alone and making love together.

But there was a niggling feeling of doubt in the back of his mind. When she pressed him to rush lab results through or get a report to her in an impossibly short space of time, Jack felt she was using their affair for more than just sex.

Of course, all such feelings were pushed to one side when she flashed her sultry smile at him and battered her eyelashes. But the feelings never quite went away. They were always still there, lying dormant. Just waiting…

"Jack, it's Chrissie" the sharp familiar tones pierced his ear and he sat in up in bed, sleepily peering at his clock in the gloom

"It's 3am," he mumbled sleepily

"I am aware of that Jack," she said sharply "I need you to get down to Garrison Road ASAP," she instructed "We've got a body in a bedsit and I need you on forensics,"

"I'm not even on call tonight," he whined sleepily "Anyway you were supposed to be coming to see me tonight, not the other way around,"

"I got caught up in this case," she said, dusting off his concerns "I need you here Jack. I've got a feeling this case is going to be a tricky one and I need my best team working on it,"

"Fine," Jack groaned as he stood up, wincing at the coolness of the floor against his bare feet "I'll be there in twenty minutes,"

"Make it ten and I'll make it up to you later," Chrissie said and Jack smiled sleepily to himself

"Oh you bet you will," he mumbled into the phone

But she had already hung up, leaving him listening to the droning beeping of the disconnected line. He shook his head and tossed his phone back on his bed as he groped around his flat for some clothes. He found some jeans and a hoodie and pulled them on, trying to shake the sleepiness from his body.

He glanced out of the window and groaned as he a drizzly Yorkshire dawn slowly start to break. He reached under his bed to locate one of his missing trainers and smirked to himself when his hand instead came back with one of Chrissie's bras. He contemplated it for a moment, considering whether it was a sign she was trying to secretly move in with him, before tossing it back on the bed and making his way out of the flat.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

When Jack arrived at the address Chrissie had supplied, the scene was buzzing with a flurry of action. The place was swarming with paramedics, police officers and some of Jack's fellow forensic colleagues zipping themselves into their white suits. He spotted Chrissie almost immediately; she was waiting at the cordon tape with an impatient look plastered across her face. He quickly changed into his blue forensic suit and met her at the cordon, flashing his ID at the officer on the cordon as he ducked under it

"9 minutes and 45 seconds," he said proudly glancing at his watch

"What?" she frowned.

"You said if I made it here in less than ten minutes then you'd make it up to me later," he said smugly

"Sure," she brushed off his flirting. He was of course used to this kind of behaviour by now: when she got her teeth into a case she forgot social niceties. Of course she never really adhered to them when she wasn't pursing a case either.

She turned and entered the nearby building and for time since he arrived, Jack turned his attention to his surroundings as he followed her. They had just entered what looked like a run-down council hostel. Paint was peeling from the walls which were embellished with spots of damp. The entire place was as dismal as it was dilapidated and Jack wrinkled his nose as a pungent smell of alcohol, urine and mould hit his nostrils.

"Welcome to the finest hostel Yorkshire has to offer," Chrissie said sarcastically "It's a council run bedsit. There are 10 self-contained bedsits here," she informed him "The body is in number 3,"

"Do we have an ID yet?" he asked

"The bedsit is being rented to one Marie Shelby;" Chrissie said "She's well-known to us. We've booked her a few times for soliciting, so we've got her DNA on file. It should be pretty easy to match, although there's little doubt that it's her,"

"I'll make sure to get some DNA samples,"

They entered the bedsit and Jack sighed as he saw a body sprawled out on the floor. She was a petite young woman, in her late twenties. She was lying on her back, glassy eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. Her flat was a tip; dirty plates and half-empty take-away containers littered the room and were mixed in with used needles and traces of suspicious looking white powder.

"Have you got anything for me yet?" Chrissie asked the attending pathologist as Jack began to unload his kit

"I estimate time of death to be around 1-2am. As for cause, well I can't rule out drug overdose given the state of the room but there is petechial haemorrhaging in her eyes and bruising is beginning to form on her neck,"

"You think she's been strangled?" Jack asked

"It's a distinct possibility;" the pathologist nodded "I'll know more after the post-mortem though,"

Jack nodded "I'll make sure to swab her neck for DNA; we might be able to pick up some trace of the suspect,"

"I need you to process those samples as soon as possible," Chrissie demanded "I don't want to lose any time on this case. There's no CCTV in this hostel and given the state of some of the other residents in this place, I'm not sure how reliable witnesses are going to be. Forensic evidence is going to be key here Jack, so don't let me down,"

"Sure," he nodded and set to work

"Missus wears the trousers does she?" the pathologist asked as Chrissie left the room to attend to other matters

"We're not married," Jack shook his head

"Oh," the pathologist said looking surprised "I thought that she was and assuming from the tension between you two, I thought that you were the poor sod married to her," he shrugged "My mistake, no offence intended"

"None taken," Jack brushed off his apology

"Jack!" Chrissie shouted from the corridor

"Duty calls," the pathologist murmured and watched as Jack hot-tailed it out of the room "Poor sod," he said shaking his head. This was the first time he had met DS Reed but her reputation preceded her and from what he could establish it was well-earned.

He wondered if the Irishman knew what he was letting himself in for. He looked young, maybe only just newly qualified; competent enough to handle the science but not the politics that followed it. It put him in a vulnerable position, open to manipulation from those more experienced than him.

And when it came to DS Reed, manipulation was never very far behind.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Chrissie Reed stood in her office staring hard at the whiteboard in front of her. Plastered across it were numerous pieces of paper detailing the extent of the investigation so far: from crime scene photos to a possible list of suspects. Her gaze fell upon the photo of Marie Shelby's corpse and she sighed.

The post-mortem report had confirmed that she had been strangled and that her blood was full of various drugs. DNA results still hadn't come through yet and Chrissie was still compiling a list of all possible suspects from Marie's well-known clientele. Unfortunately for her it contained some of the nastiest scumbags Yorkshire had to offer. One name had caught her name immediately: Ross Parkwell.

Parkwell's reputation was well entrenched in the police force; a scumbag through and through, Parkwell had had numerous unpleasant dealing with the police and had a long criminal record from drug-dealing to ABH. He had also been booked several times for kerb-crawling and according to Marie Shelby's strung-out neighbours, often frequented her flat. Right now he seemed to be the most prominent lead although Chrissie had yet to find the physical evidence that linked him to the crime.

She jumped slightly as she felt a pair of muscular arms slink around her waist. A small smile passed onto her face and she leant back into his chest. Conflicting feelings flooded her brain as he nuzzled her neck. On the one hand, she was frustrated by the interruption but on the other, there was something welcoming about it. Held close against his strong body she was reminded of her own vulnerabilities. He broke down her barriers and she disliked that intensely but he also made her feel secure. Under that 'bitch' exterior, Chrissie desired the same securities as everyone else. But she would be dammed if she ever would admit it.

"This is unprofessional," she said pulling away slightly

"I know," Jack said and she felt his smirk as he pressed his face closer to hers "How is the case going?"

"Slowly," she said sounding frustrated "But I think I have a suspect," she said nodding to the photograph of Parkwell

Jack grimaced as he studied the whiteboard "Grim case," he said

"Aren't they always?" she said and Jack could hear the years of cynicism from working in the police in her voice

"Are you goin to pull him in?" Jack asked and Chrissie nodded

"As soon as Uniform is free," she told him and felt him pull away "What?" she frowned turning to face him

"I guess that means that we're off for tonight then?" he said

"Sorry," she shrugged "Duty calls,"

"And we just know how much you love to do your duty," Jack smirked and Chrissie knew this sudden machismo was Jack's way of protecting himself

She was about to reply when the door to her office opened. The two sprang apart and Chrissie glared at the intruder.

"Sorry Ma'am," a young PC apologised looking extremely nervous as she stood before the DS. Chrissie's reputation obviously preceded her. "Uniform are ready for you to brief them now,"

Chrissie nodded "I'll be down in a moment," she said and the PC left the room quickly, obviously relieved at having completed her task

"Just go," Jack said before Chrissie could say anything else. He knew her mind was now solely on the job now and as a consequence she would only be half-committed to any further conversation they would have

"We'll speak later," she assured him but Jack just shrugged moodily

"I'm on the late shift," he muttered staring hard at his feet "I'm still working my way through the samples I retrieved,"

"Good," she nodded "I might need you to take samples from Parkwell later," she said and he nodded "And I'll need to 'liaise' with you in relation to that of course,"

Jack grinned as he followed her out of the office, brushing up against her as they parted company. Chrissie felt a pang of emotion as she watched him walk off down the corridor but she quickly silenced it, reminding herself that the police force was no place for 'womanly hysterics' , not if she wanted to make DI.


End file.
